Posted by: Fastpitch Trainer (Coach@Fastpitchtrainer.com) on Wed Dec 3 06:53:48 2008

I spend a lot of time trying to break the myth of the old school fastpitch swing with coaches and players. I run an indoor fastpitch facility and do consulting work with high schools and colleges. First off, there are forces in the swing far stronger than the hands that do not allow for anything but a circular hand path, that is a given. So I don't spend time talking to hitters about hand path, because the hand path can really be an effect of hip/shoulder rotation. If the hand path is bad, then I look to see where the hips/shoulders have failed first. While you may be giving a verbal cue to your hitters to "take their hands to the ball in a straight line" it just won't happen during the swing naturally. When this cue is given, this is when we see a flat swing plane with level shoulders during the swing with no tilt. This is the classic level shoulder, batter hitting her front tricep on her finish fastpitch swing that we try and break.

If hitting were as easy as taking your hands towards the ball, then we would see better performance in fastpitch. The problem though? The sweet spot is somewhere about 20" from the knob of the bat. So a good hitter must know how to move 20" of dead space on their bat away from the path of the pitch.

If they do that, then you hope that they are on plane. Since we are talking about swing plane vs plane of the pitch and baseball and fastpitch, it's important to know actual arc of pitches.

As a quick reference I opened up Right View Pro and took a look at baseball and fastpitch pitch plane and measured out several swings. The baseball swings I looked at, the ball is moving down at an angle of 3-5 degrees. On Fastpitch, almost every pitch was between 3-4 degrees, with a few riseballs that were 0 degrees. So there is no difference really. If we were to measure a baseball pitch at the arm pits, you would see less degree of downward movement.

There is a great Right View Pro lesson in the system of Sue Enquist showing a hitter on a rise ball. It shows a good lift of the lead elbow, that allows the bat to make the quickest possible move into the hitting zone. It would be impossible to get the bat on plane or even in the path of the ball without lifting the lead elbow and then allowing the knob to follow. By driving the knob and skipping the lead elbow movement your lead elbow is going to collapse into your side and you are going to be chopping through the hitting zone. Get the elbow above the knob, the knob above the ball and your barrel has a chance.

By the way, do good hitters HAVE to hit a riseball to be successful? or do they just have to take it and get a ball in the strike zone?

What you have to ignore slightly is the idea of the ball moving up out of a pitchers hand (fastpitch) and then dropping down. The arc of the pitch is relevant during your hitting zone. As the ball is moving up upon release, a hitter will not be in a position to be on plane at that point of their swing, so it's irrelevant. If you are hitting a fastball or drop ball, the angle down may become more severe as the ball approaches. If you are hitting anything above the waist, you are not going to see a ball actually rising up, you will be hitting at a zero angle (curve, rise).

The physics of the swing are what they are. It's the human body, working in the right sequence to provide optimal efficiency during the swing. Why would we think that girls should have to break the sequence, in order to do accomplish the same goal as a baseball hitter?

This is the problem we see with quite a few High School coaches and travel ball coaches, the idea that the Fastpitch swing has to be different. Let's face it, the only reason this is said is because coaches haven't been keeping their instruction and research current. They are simply teaching what they heard years ago, and haven't evolved.

I keep a private client base of about 45 kids. Last year, we hit about 20 homeruns as a facility over the fence. Last November I made the switch to Right View Pro, and the girls saw exactly what needed to happen in the swing, and we spent a lot of time breaking myths and proving what really happens with all great hitters to the girls.

Now the average age of my students is about 13 and 1/2 years old and we've hit over 60 balls out of the park this year during games. There are a few kids in that group who have committed to major D1 programs, and some of the younger girls will follow.

My kids were very successful for their age in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, but I updated my instruction and now our kids are doing tremendous things. I'm as stubborn as they come on what I learned playing ball, but I updated my instruction for the greater good of my kids, I hope a lot more Fastpitch coaches can do the same. Sure it's extra work, but it's worth it for your kids.

Mark Mulvany
www.fastpitchtrainer.com



> I also coach and play girls fastpitch and I just had a comment to the softball coach. There are some things that can be applied to softball but not all. This method will not completely work for a successful hitting strategy for girls. One major item is leading with the knob and arm extension. You have to drive the knob more with softball, there is not a better way to hit a rising pitch. We have less of a upward swing and being on a line is much more critical.
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> Girls have much more tendencies to drop their hands to the ball which ends up an L shape pattern to the ball. The circular motion with the hands that they are talking about for baseball won't work for softball either. The hand pattern could be described more as almost a line to the ball.
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> Just a few tips for the softball coaches out there!
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> > Jack
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> > Got your DVD and it really helps with tryng to understand your methods. Visual works best.
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> > I only have a few concern or questions.
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> > I coach a Girls fastpitch team, and in fastpitch the ball plain goes up from the release point vice down like in hardball. Should not the Arc of the swing be in a more level plain from lauch to finish vice an upward swing as you dmeonstrate in the video? At contact you mention the lead elbow is up and bat head down below the hands. Doesn't this position at contact, promote an upward swing through the strike zone? Wouldn't the contact zone for the girls be very small in fastpitch with your method? They would have to be almost perfect. Would it not be best to keep the elbow level from start to finish or only slightly raise the elbow at finish to generate less loop in the swing ARC for fastpitch? I'm trying to learn your system and teach it to the team this winter. I find your reasoning and logic to hitting quite interesting. Does everything your saying apply to fastpich or is there some modifications that must be done?
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> > Thanks.
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> > Carl